CodeCompletion

Using code completion

TeXworks comes with an expandable set of code templates that can easily be inserted into a (La)TeX document. To insert a code template, type the first few characters of the pattern name and press <Tab>. The code template best matching the characters you typed will be inserted and highlighted. If there are multiple code templates starting with the characters you typed press <Tab> to cycle through the possibilities.

Some code templates include bullet characters •. These act as placeholders where text should be inserted. Use <Ctrl>+<Tab> and <Shift>+<Ctrl>+<Tab> (<Alt>+<Tab> and <Alt>+<Shift>+<Tab> on Mac) to navigate between those placeholders.

Some of the most common code templates are listed below:

--	\textendash
---	\textemdash
lbl	\label{}
ref	\ref{}
sec	\section{}
ssec	\subsection{}
bf	\textbf{}
em	\emph{}
xa	\alpha
xb	\beta
...etc...

Customizing code completion

The code completion templates are located in the completion sub-directory of your TeXworks resource directory.

The general syntax of a code completion template is the following:

	<alias>:=<text>

The <alias>:= part can be omitted to turn the code text into its own alias. <text> must fit in a single line (see below for ways to produce a multi-line code template). Empty lines and lines starting with a % are ignored.

In <text> several special markers are allowed:

#RET#	is replaced by a line break upon expansion of the template
#INS#	upon expansion the cursor is placed at this position. Any additional #INS# markers are ignored
•	the Unicode character U+2022 (BULLET) is used as a placeholder where text should be entered; navigate through to the placeholders with <Ctrl>+<Tab> and <Shift>+<Ctrl>+<Tab> (<Alt>+<Tab> and <Alt>+<Shift>+<Tab> on Mac)

Please refer to the existing code completion template files for numerous examples.

Thanks to Stefan Löffler for this writeup.